Hand Raised Budgies for sale Sydney.
We have in this article detailed all the important non-sugar-coated facts of budgie ownership. Please follow these details below, as occasionally people find different opinions online and sadly your budgie may pay the ultimate price for an incorrect one. Everything listed on this page is exactly what we and our breeders recommend. The knowledge we have amassed is combination of over a couple of hundred years of knowledge passed down from not only the original founders of the business but influenced from the zoo industry which is the owners background and added input from many breeders that work in with us to improve the lives of birds and budgies, one of the most amazing little parrots in the world and the most popular for very good reason.
Our goal, for our customers’ pets, is to thrive physically and mentally. This is how we and our breeders keep our budgies happy and healthy.
Budgies are the most popular pet bird in the world for a very good reason, they make excellent pets and family members. A budgie can pretty much do and be trained to do almost everything a large parrot can do for a much cheaper price tag.
Did you know we have a special bird and cage package deal with great discounts if you are looking at owning one of these beautiful birds. We have a full range of everything to keep your budgie happy and healthy.
Check our Instagram or Facebook page to see our tips and updated photos of what hand raised baby budgies we have in stock.
https://www.facebook.com/BirdsvilleRosebery/
Budgies often live up to 10 years old and are very social birds.
Bringing your new Budgie Home
For detailed information on feeding and keeping baby budgies click on Budgie care sheet, for more details on hand raising click on hand rearing page.
Many Budgies can become easily stressed when being introduced to a new environment. This is why we recommend all budgies that arrive to a new home to be given sulfa 3 or sulfadim for 7 to 10 days. It is a mild antibiotic that stops enteritis which is caused by stress and can easily kill a budgie. We also recommend if you are introducing a new budgie, to give this to them long with millet sprays and a good quality budgie mix as change in food quality can put budgies into stress as well. It is recommended new birds be quarantined for 2 weeks before introducing to your flock.
Avoiding to much stress is important such as excited kids or even a dominant bird with a young bird placed in the same cage, when the new arrival gets used to the surroundings they will adjust quite well.
Cage for tame Budgies in Sydney
Remember a bird’s cage should be an area they love to be in. Many of our customers have birds that put themselves to bed after they have out of cage time. Reading through our page will set you up with just about everything you need to know to care for your budgie.
Selecting a cage for your budgie will depend a lot on your personal taste, the area the cage will be kept and your budget. It is important to select the largest cage that is suitable to ensure the bird will have an adequate area to move around, even when toys are added. The bigger the cage the less cleaning.
A cage with a large front door is not essential but I think important for when you are taming your budgie. It makes it easier to get the bird in and out when it is on your hand and aids in teaching your bird to step up. Visit Birdsville and have a look at all the different cages, as there is many different shapes and sizes. Some cages are unsuitable if you’re unsure ask one of our team. Never choose a round cage for a budgie. Ask our team about our package deal discounts.
This video may help some people with training their bird it’s not the method I would use but there are always different ways to get the same result.
Budgie Toys
Toys are very important for Hand reared budgies, as they love to play. Ladders, swings, chew toys and bells are ideal. The happier your bird and the more mental stimulation they get the better they become as a pet. They should have at least 4 toys of different textures, bells, luffa, plastic and possibly wood. A ladder and a swing, some also enjoy a place to hide in.
Toys make your birds cage an area they love to be in.
The goal is to keep your budgie entertained while you are away and when they are in their enclosure. It also helps prevent behavioral issue down the track, such as plucking, noise level, aggression and general bad behavior. It will help creates a tamer, friendlier and happier budgie in the long run.
Toys need to be rotated regularly, so your budgie doesn’t get bored. If your budgie destroys their toy, it means they like it and should be replaced. Watch for wear and tear, discard when they become damage or rusty.
We have different toys arriving at Birdsville all the time.
Perfect perches for a hand reared budgerigars
Perches are important and some thought needs to go in to make sure they are positioned correctly within the enclosure If the bird hits its head, or the perch is right over the food or water then the bird will poo where it eats and drinks. Minimum of 5 perches, including at least 1 grit or concrete perch for the minimum recommended enclosure for a budgie 2 natural perches. Natural perches are important because they help stop your budgie from getting a common condition called bumblefoot. The natural grooves in the food help distribute the pressure on their feet which helps stop this condition occurring. If you are getting a new set keep in mind 2 dowel two perches, usually come with a new enclosure, making 5 perches in total.
Diet for hand raised budgies.
The bulk of a budgies diet is seed mix, sadly I encounter people all too often who only supply their bird with seed and water which isn’t quite adequate for any bird.
We recommend a ratio of approx. 30% – high quality pellets or crumble, 65% – high quality seed or seed blends and 5% – fruit, veg and greens. Birdsville blends also contain vegetables and greens that will add to this base diet. Baby budgies should be given an all you can eat buffet, as baby budgies cannot overeat. Birdsville stock high-grade seed mixes and also have specialty mixes with added greens, fruits, veg and legumes. All our healthy seed mixes are great value to our customers, as they are mixed and bagged fresh on site for unbeatable prices and quality.
After about 3 months you can begin to feed your bird a higher quantity of pellets. We recommend having separate bowls for your pellets and your seed blends. This allows you to know exactly what they are eating.
Do not feed
Never feed your budgie lettuce, cereal, avocado, onion, garlic, sugar, corn, beans, breads, sweets, chocolate, biscuits, coffee and some garden plants can be toxic.
If you need help with your budgie diet or transitioning them on to pellet, please come instore to see our team.
*Remember – baby budgie will mostly eat seed and will learn to eat the pellets and vegetables in the coming months.
Seed– Always give your bird a good quality seed mix, be wary of many supermarket and chain store seed mixes and remember, seed doesn’t stay fresh forever and just because it is in a pretty packaged box claiming vitamins and minerals, doesn’t mean it is of quality. Bird specialty stores will always carry high grade seed because breeders depend on it to get their birds to breed regular healthy offspring. If you have one budgie it is not advisable to purchase a 20KG bag of seed, as you are better off buying small amounts of seed at regular intervals. Bird seed loses its nutritional contact over time. A 4kg bag is the best value for money for even one bird. Many supermarkets seed mixes stock low grade seed with a lot of filler with colored bits, large inedible seeds, sorghum, useless colored bits, excess rape seed and shell grit. Shell grit is better supplied separately. If you are not sure about the seed you are using, take it into any bird specialist store and they will be able identify and explain the seed mixes. A top-quality seed really makes a big difference to your bird’s health.
An older overweight budgie you want to add French white millet percentage to their diet, our Birdsville team sell this separate in store.
Birdsville Budgie blend is a beautiful addition to add to your budgies diet that has mixed herbs, beetroot, vegies and plenty of other goodies.
Pellet’s– Some people feed their budgie’s budgie crumble always slowly introduce this to your bird as a bird that is not used to this new diet may actually starve to death especially if the budgie is a baby it takes months to wean a budgie onto pellet’s We sell budgie crumble which I prefer to give budgies as a supplement to the diet. If you want a low-fat mix for an older bird, then increase the amount of French white seed in your birds seed mix.
Millet sprays‘- Budgies love millet sprays and its good for them. This is a very fresh millet seed which encourages baby budgies to eat more, and adult budgies just enjoy them. there are a number of kinds of millet although I find French. white to be the healthiest option for your bird.
Water – Budgies need access to clen drinking water at all times. for easy maintenance we have always recommended our customers to get bird drink bottles or rodent drink bottles as its difficult for birds to sit above them and dirty their water like they would with an open container
The good oil – Available in store packed with Liquid Omega 3 and 6 supplement for not only improving the health of cockatiels in general and their eggs it can help with fatty liver disease. Omega 3 and 6 can be deficient in many grains and this can help repair the liver, egg production and immunity. The good oil also contains fat – soluble vitamins including A, D3 and E. Easy to use mix 15ml of the good oil per kg of seed. Let mix stand for at least 4 hours at room temperature before feeding to ensure the oil leaks into the kernel of the seed.
Greens– Try to supply your budgie with some vegetables such as broccoli, spinach carrot, beetroot, snow peas, green beans and celery. Try fruit but budgies are not naturally fruit eaters and there for unlikely to eat it. They also love pieces of fresh grass; be careful the grass wasn’t sprayed.
Calcium and Iodine– added to the water will give your budgie many of the essential vitamins and minerals that a captive environment does not supply. This is essential for the overall health and vitality of your budgie. Many budgies are also deficient in iodine so make sure you supply them with iodine bells, perches and shell grit.
Calcium is unable to be absorbed without vitamin D, please read below. Remember birds have hollow bones unlike mammals so they cannot store minerals and calcium. They need a lot of calcium to support egg production, beak, nails and also the feathers they grow along with bodily functions. So, both male and females need calcium.
Calcium and iodine perch – Shell grit – Calcium and Iodine bells
Calcium perch, bells, buttons and cuttlebone are essential for budgies.
Pink ones contain iodine, white ones contain calcium and calcium perches contain both. All these items only need to be present inside the budgie’s enclosure and the budgies will sample them when needed.
Iodine is especially important for budgies as they are more likely to have iodine deficiency than almost all other pet birds. Iodine is used by thyroid gland, which helps regulate body temperature digestion, growth, heart rate and reproductive system.
Calcium and vitamin D– Vitamin D is essential for all bird’s absorption of calcium this comes from the sun. For a bird to absorb the vitamin D from the sun this means they must have unfiltered light hit them for at-least half an hour a day. If the light comes through a window, then this light is filtered and doesn’t supply the budgie with vitamin D.
Interestingly when we do bird nail clipping for customers we can actually tell if your bird has a calcium problem or vitamin D problem.. Birds lacking in calcium get a whole list of issues and a shortened lifespan. Many of these customers with birds that have a calcium problem say oh, but my bird gets lots of sun. My bird lives next to the window and the sun shines on them every day. Unfortunately, glass filters the sun, and you can’t get vitamin D through glass. Birds need around 10 hours a week of unfiltered sunlight to get the right amount of vitamin D.
listed Below are links to Avian vitamin D supplements we stock in store is – Vetafarm soluvite D – Vetafarm D Nutrical and Vetafarm Calcivet Liquid. If you are unsure which to use, visit your local bird expert store and they should be able to help you.
Outside budgies use Multivet and inside budgies use Calcivet, Ornithon or Soluvite D. Adding vitamins to your budgies water is very important for the health and vitality, as pets’ budgies cannot get all require vitamins from diet alone.
Vitamin supplement– To add many essential vitamins that a captive environment does not provide. There is many great bird vitamin supplements available in Australia. Vitamins are not necessary if your Budgies is fed crumbles as they already contain them. Links to popular vitamins are linked – ornithon – vetafarm breeding aid plus – multi vitamins, passwell multi vite
Budgie Carry cage
It is recommended to take your new budgie home in a carry enclosure, as this method of transportation ensures that your budgie will remain protected and safe, until you are ready to place them into the new environment.
Some budgies can be stressed when moving in cars and can flap around and injure them self when journeying in a larger cage. Also, a carry enclosure is handy to have as a budgie owner, to hold when cleaning or moving your bird around in different situations. We have many carry cages to choose from in store.
Substrate for the bottom of the budgie cage
Grit is the most recommended. It is great for budgies to forage in and makes it very easy to spot clean your enclosure. We use grit in our bird enclosures at Birdsville, if you would like to see what it looks like.
Substrate only needs to be about one inch deep. We also have a variety of grit sheets available in store as well which can be changed sheet by sheet.
Introducing your new budgie to existing birds
If you already have a budgie at home, your new budgie should be kept in a separate cage to allow the bird to adjust to its surroundings and both birds to each other. Use this time to handle your new budgie away from your older budgie. Always allow at least 2 weeks before introducing the two birds, making sure to keep an eye on them and separate if interdiction don’t go well and try again in another weeks’ time. Mixing budgies
Medicating your budgies
Sulphadim or sulpha 3
Liquid Majic for keeping budgies healthy. Aside from certain illnesses that these mild antibiotics are good for I recommend anyone who gets a new young or older budgie to treat them with this anytime they move as stress can often give them the runs. Sulphadim or sulfa 3 calms them down and stops them from getting the runs and therefore stops them becoming de hydrated. When or if a Budgie gets stressed and dehydrated from movement, they can be susceptible to illness and stress. The main reason for this is it compromises their immune function and leaves them open to dyeing of a pathogen that normally wouldn’t affect them.
Worming your Budgie
Young birds that have been recently weaned have a delicate bacteria’s developing in their gut, worming to early after moving could harm the bacteria’s development and or sensitive crop inside your new bird. This is why we recommend waiting 10 days for your bird to settle in.
every 3 months. Worming your bird is important for the health of all parrots in captivity.
Lists of wormers available at Birdsville are aristopet worming syrup with praziquantel – vetafarm wormout gel – avtrol plus bird wormer.
Worming your bird is actually very easy it will simply go in the water supply for amounts simply check the label on the bottle, or on some bottles peel back the label.
Why are worms bad for your bird and you?
Worms cause a range of diseases, the severity of which depends on the species of worm they are infected with. Parasitic worms have an indirect lifecycle with many insects such as fly’s, beetles, other insects and feces acting as intermediate hosts.
Worms can weaken your bird’s immune system which inadvertently can kill your bird from a virus that a bird with a strong immune system can fight off.
if your bird is not wormed regularly and after some time you do worm your bird, the dead worms can cause intestinal or respiratory blockages, in sick adult birds it may be a good idea to worm them with a half dose first.
Some worms multiply slowly and some quickly depending on the kind of worms.
Below is a common and wide variety of worms of worms including Tapeworm Worm (Choanotaena spp, Raillietina spp), Thread Worm (Capillaria spp.) Roundworm (Ascaridia spp.), Ceacal Worm (Heterakis gallinarum), Hook Worm Acuaria spp.) in both Aviary and caged Cockatiels.
Budgies that are kept indoors should be wormed every 3 months and outside every 6 weeks.
Baby budgies shouldn’t be wormed until 10 days after moving to their new environment, by this time they are the right age to be wormed. Worming a budgie too young can upset a baby budgie’s crop (stomach), causing them to stop eating, as they have only just learnt how to eat on their own.
Common house flies are known to spread a large number of parasitic worms. The fly would pick up the worms from wild bird/rat feces, fly inside, landing on your birds’ water, food bowl or on your budgie and infects them.
Humans and other pets can get and spread the same worms as budgie. Worms can kill your budgie so it’s important to get them wormed. Not only to protect them, but also the whole family and other pets.
Application is very easy, simply follow instructions on the packet and add solution to water.
Worming your new pets while they are quarantined will help stop the spread of worms to your existing pets, children and family.
Lice and mite spray for your hand raised budgie
These are the two most common parasites of cage birds and their environment but are easily controlled with a Mite and Lice spray, available at Birdsville. When using spray, spray bird, entire cage, perches, nesting box and toys, remember to remove all water and feed and try to avoid spraying in birds’ eyes. Your bird Lice and mite bottle will explain how to use, remember avoiding the mouth and eyes. Your Budgie should be sprayed every 3 months. list of lice and mice medication below for cockatiels, if you’re unsure of which one to buy, visit your local bird store, vetafarm avimec – inca pestene powder – aristopet scaley face and leg treatment – avitrol bird mite and lice spray – mite and lice spray.
Why is lice and mites bad?
aside from irritating your bird It can eventually kill your bird in severe cases. Mites and lice also add stress to your bird through sucking its blood and making your bird anemic. Lice and mites can cause plucking and skin conditions due to itchiness. These things can weaken the immune system and make your bird susceptible to disease that your bird would normally fight off.
Budgies that are kept indoors should be sprayed every 3 months and outdoor every 6 weeks. Lice and mites can unfortunately spread everywhere and budgies in an inside environment are still susceptible.
Lice & Mite Spray is recommended to apply the same time you worm your budgie, making it easier to remember.
Application is very easy, simply follow instructions on the packet and spray budgies’ body, under wings and avoid the eyes.
Lice and mites are most commonly spread by insects such as cockroaches or fly’s this is why inside birds should still be routinely sprayed.
Trimming your budgies’ nails.
There are many perches available, such as sand, concrete and grit perches that are excellent to help ware down the tip of your budgies’ nails.
However, some budgies need them trimmed, which we can do in store.
Budgies usually need a nail trim at least twice a year, if they are not being worn down by perches.
No need to book an appointment, we can check your budgies’ nails anytime we are open.
Cage cleaner for Budgies
Another great way to keep your cage tidy is using shell grit as a substrate, this is what we use for our birds, and it makes cleaning your cage very easy. Visit your local bird store and they will have this is a regular supply. All our cage cleaner is designed to keep your cage clean safe, non-toxic and easy to use. Removes dirt and debris easy as well. Gently deodorizes without strong fragrance that could upset your bird. It also makes cleaning much easier as the poo comes off easily after being sprayed.
Training your hand raised budgie.
Handling/training: Basic training has huge benefits for you and your budgie. It requires dedication in the first few weeks, repetition and persistence is the key.
If your budgie bites you, do not pull away. Wear wool gloves, if you need to and continue to gently handle it. When your budgie isn’t nibbling your gloves, they can come off.
When taming your budgie, its suggested you begin with a single young budgie and play with it for a minimum of 10-minute intervals 2 to 3 times a day.
The early days are the most important time to bond with your budgie. When you are watching TV or reading is the best time to tame your budgie as you are relaxed, just let your feathered buddy to hang out with you and they will very quickly bond with you.
Budgie Training is an important factor of having a well-behaved hand raised budgie. When you first get the bird home, let it settle down and get use to their new environment for a day or two. After these initial days, the budgie should be handled in a quiet, relaxed situation. Make sure to not over stress your bird in the first few weeks of taking it home, babies need their rest. The more time within reason you spend with your bird, the better your bird will become.
Like all birds when you give your budgie time to bond with you it will get tamer and tamer. If your budgie is in a group with other birds, it will display more bird like behavior but when you take your budgie home and train them and they start bonding with you it does not take long before they become very tame. As long as you put the work in early.
Getting one budgie will bond with you a lot easier than 2 or more. Yes, you can take more than one budgie at a time, but you will need to spend a lot more time taming them. If you want more than one budgie it may be better to get one at first and when the first budgie is super friendly, then get the second budgie when the first one has been super tame for at least 3 weeks.
Once the bird has reached a certain age it will generally always be tame and bonded to humans.
The most common mistake with training is the new budgie owner chases the bird around the cage before they handle the bird, or the bird runs away from them, and they are too afraid to handle it.
There is nothing wrong with the budgie, but the human may need a bit of coaching. So please keep reading this paragraph, if you chase a budgie it will learn to fear, you. If you don’t handle the bird, it won’t get a chance to bond with you. Try to quickly catch your budgie with 2 hands not one until your budgie is trained to step up.
If your bird is nibbling and you or child have soft skin place on some wool gloves and the bird may chew on this a while during handling, but it won’t last very. The bird will soon stop chewing and start to relax.
If a bird is jumpy make sure you handle the bird on a couch or a bed until they settle down, this can save the bird as repeated falls can rattle the birds’ organs and easily kill a baby budgie. Birds including budgies do not have a diaphragm, so their organs kind of hang in their cavity and are more susceptible to damage than a small rodent of the same size.
Ignore bad behavior and reward good behavior. If your budgie runs away, gently pick up and continue calmly handling. If you allow your budgie to run away and not be handled, it will not form a bond.
The budgie being close to you, will create a bond and your budgie will get used to you.
Keep an eye on children, they can handle a small budgie to death all too easily. Many children do not understand how to train a bird and they will need supervision.
first steps in training your baby hand raised budgie.
- After handling your budgie get them to stand on your finger
- get your budgie to step up from one finger to another by placing your free finger Infront of the budgie and slightly pushing on the chest. This will encourage the budgie to step up.
- once your budgie is stepping up on your fingers then train them to step up from your finger onto a perch and reverse.
Teaching your hand reared budgie to talk
As budgies hold the world record in the most words said by any bird, they can be great talkers. Some budgies simply won’t talk, and some will. This is a lucky dip, but to increase the chance of your bird telling you need to repeat words to them over and over again. Some people cheat and played recordings to their bird, and this has worked quite well.
Sexing Budgies
You can usually tell the sex of your budgie by the color of the ‘cere’ (nostrils). The hen will have a brown cere and the males will be blue. In some mutations such as yellow, pied or white budgies it can be more difficult to determine their sex as the cere stays pink on the male. When sexing baby budgies the young hen will usually have and opaque cere whilst the males will be a light pink-Ish color.
Baby budgies can be easily identified, as they have a darker colored eye and the feathering on the top of their head has a series of bars that continue down to the cere.
The cere is the fleshy part above the beak that holds the nostrils (nares).
Baby boy budgies will have a cere that is colored pink or purplish in color, that turns blue in adulthood.
Baby girl budgies will have a cere that is a whitish brownish even opaque colored, that turns brown in adulthood.
Sexing cannot be 100% or guaranteed for baby budgies, but you can be quite accurate by comparing budgies to increase your odds of getting the desired sex. Males and females can make wonderful pets.
A baby budgie will start to molt the bars on top of the head to reveal a clear color when they reach 3 months old.
Budgerigar Essentials list
Carry Enclosure – Every budgie owner needs one for safe transport, also useful for birdy adventures or to hold during enclosure cleans.
Quality Seed – Avoid low grade chain store or supermarket budgie mixes with filler, as it may decrease your budgie’s health/survival rate. Our Birdsville Budgie mix has no filler, not only keeping your budgie healthy but saving you money. If you are not sure place our quality seed mix in one container and place the generic mix in the other and watch what the bird will do. They taste the freshness and the quality and will always eat the better-quality grain.
Birdsville blend – A high grade blend of grains with herbs, beetroot, Niger seed, sunflower kernels and plenty of other goodies. This can be fed as a normal seed replacement but to get the best value we recommend mixing this blend with your quality seed mentioned above.
Pellets – Vetafarm budgie crumble, Peckish, Passwell budge crumble, we only stock the best!
Millet Sprays – Millet sprays are great for training & getting young budgie eating, while transitioning to their new environment.
Seed bar – Seed bar is a forage toy, very good and getting your bird to forage and chew.
Healthy Treats – Birdsville Gourmet Budgie Blend with added fruits, greens, beetroot, veg and legumes is arguably the healthiest mix you can get your budgie.
Enclosure – Please consult staff on enclosure recommendation, all too often we meet people who purchase the wrong cage.
Toys – 1 Ladder, 1 swing per budgie in their enclosure, with a minimum 4 appropriate toys for chewing, preening, and playing.
Perches – Minimum of 5 perches, including at least 1 grit or concrete perch and 2 natural perches and two perches usually come with a new enclosure, making 5 perches in total.
Substrate – Grit or sand sheets, great for birds to forage in and makes it very easy to spot clean your enclosure. View substrate in our aviary budgie enclosure.
Calcium / Iodine – essential for birds and come in the form of perches, bells, buttons and cuttlebone. Pink ones contain iodine, white ones are for calcium and perches contain both.
Vitamins – outside birds use Multivet and inside birds use Calcivet, Ornithon or Soluvite D. Very important for their health, as budgies cannot absorb vitamin D through glass, they need direct sunlight.
Wormer – Worming needs to be completed 10 days after bringing your bird home. Simple to use, just follow the directions on the bottle.
Lice & Mite Spray – Lice & Mite spray is recommended 10 days after purchase. Simple to use, point and spray avoid birds’ eyes – directions also on the bottle.
Sulphadim or Spark – helps prevent stress from transition, which may lead to them getting diarrhoea and reduces dehydration. Mix in drinking water for 10 days upon bringing your budgie home. Simple directions on bottle.
Cage Cleaner – Avicare, F10 or Arisopet are all bird safe, nontoxic disinfectant and makes it easy to remove poo and dirt from enclosure, toys, perches, and bowl. Normal disinfects can be quite toxic to budgies.
What you may like to consider
Enclosure stand – some large enclosures already come with a stand and all enclosure suitable for a budgie can have a stand available. These are great to lift the enclosure off the ground, to an easy level to interact with your pet.
Enclosure Cover – some people like to cover their bird of a nighttime; this can decrease early wake ups.
Enclosure Tidy – these are great for reducing mess, but won’t eliminate completely, they wrap around the enclosure at the base and help to bounce bits of seed and grit back into the enclosure, kind of like a boob tube for a cage.
Spare bowls (food & water) – swap bowls, if normal one gets dirty and need a soak (easy cleaning) or to add an addition food. Additional bowls are also recommended in the first 7 days of bringing your new bird home.
No Mess Feeder – these also reduce mess and prevent your budgie from spreading food everywhere. Worth its weight in gold and goves you more time to love your budgie.
Drink Bottle – they can’t poo in them, reducing the amount of time you have to change the water and less mess. Also safe on a hot day they will not bath in the drinking water leaving them with reduced water that could kill your bird.
Cuttlebone, Fruit & Millet Spray Holders – an additional way of suppling cuttlebones, fruit and millet that can make them more interacted for your budgie and keep them off the ground, reducing waste.
Bird baths – for bathing, which is important for birds’ wellbeing (large, shallow feeders can also be used), shampoo, spray bottle and shower perches.
Tent/hide – tents, pouches, hammocks, and hides. You will be surprised how much some budgies love these.
Tip – Check our reptile and small animal sections upstairs, as there are some great products that could be used for bathing, hides, cool bowls, toy and so on.
Bird Stand and Play Gym – Excellent for budgie training, as well as giving them a place to hang out and play. Additional toys can be added to create environmental enrichment.
Synbiotic / Probiotic – can boost immune system, support digestive function when use daily.
First aid – Spark, Sulphadim, Triple C, F10 barrier ointment, heat lights
The Good Oil – great for improving liver function in your budgie and overall health. These is mixed with the seed mix.
Harnesses – provided an added safety when outside with your budgie. Harness training does take time and should never expect your bird to expect it straight away.
Bathing is important for all birds it’s important to get them used to bathing from a young age or they will not bath as an adult bird.
Summing up bringing a new budgie home for the first time.
For the first 3 days: Your baby budgie will be naturally scared, because of the changed environment. Some of our baby budgies have never been in a cage before and have never been away from other budgies. Many baby budgies may not eat much for the first day or 2 due to stress of new environment.
Offer extra millet sprays on the floor to encourage your baby budgie to eat. Millet sprays are great, because they are a fresh. Recently harvested millet is a little bit softer and excellent for encouraging your new budgie to eat. When your budgie is eating properly and feels at home, then it is time to start training. Handle your budgie for 15 minutes, no more than 3 times a day gently. Choose somewhere that is soft like on a bed or a couch to avoid injury. Handling of hand raised birds is important to create and strengthen your bond with the bird. Encourage your budgie to eat its favorite treats. Handling of hand raised budgies is important to create and strengthen your bond with your budgie.
*Tip – if your budgie is spooked and runs away, gently pick up and continue calmly handling your budgie with 2 hands and bring them close to you, before teaching them to step up. Repeat this process until your budgie relaxes.
A hand raised budgies are tame but not trained.
*Remember – that your baby budgie needs to adjust to the new environment, so be calm, patient and your budgie will bond with you.
Many new budgie owners who are new to birds, can be scared when they flap their wings. Budgies are very perceptive creatures; this fear can set back you’re training and bonding. It is very important to not be scared of your bird and be a calm leader.
The first 10 days: When bringing your budgie home, we recommend all baby budgies have sulphadim in the water every day, for the first 10 days. This is important, because it stops new budgie from getting diarrhoea, due to stress. This medication also reduces the chance of your budgie dehydrating which opens your budgie up to more complications.
Moving into a new environment is stressful for any budgie and this stress can easily make them susceptible to diarrhoea, quickly leading to dehydrate. Dehydration reduces a budgie’s immune function and leaves them susceptible to illness.
As your budgie becomes more confident and use-to its’ new environment, you can increase the amount of time you handle your budgie, as they bond to you. Once your parrot starts to become confident, handling is no longer stressful for the parrot.
On the 10th day of bringing your budgie home, your budgie is ready for worm treatment and lice and mite spray. Details below.
Introductions: If you have an existing budgie, it is recommended to keep new budgie quarantine for at least 2 weeks in a cage close by or inside the aviary. This is so both birds can get to know each other and not be harassed too much, when they are introduced.
Enclosure set up: For the first 7 days, make sure there is an extra seed bowl and water bowl placed on the floor for easy access. It is still important to have food and water available in normal feeders on the side of the enclosure.
We recommend each enclosure should have at least 4 feeders as minimum, one for seeds, one for pellets, one for water and spares for treats and veggies.
Do not be surprised, if your baby budgie only eats seed in the beginning. It can take some budgies a month or more to learn how to eat pellets or budgie crumble, mineral supplements and veggies properly. During this learning phase, your baby budgie must have a constant supply of seed, or it may starve, but it is also, very important they are offered a varied diet. So, they learn how to eat different foods. All you can eat buffet for the first 3 months!
Many options are available for dispensing water that are great, will save you time and prevents your bird from defecating in the water. Ask our Birdsville team. Budgies must always have a constant supply of fresh clean water.
Perches: Make sure your perches are placed in a good position, so your bird is comfortable and won’t hit its’ head. Common sense in this area is important. Make sure perches are appropriate sizing for budgies. We recommend a minimum of 5 perches.
*Remember – most enclosures come with 2 dowel perches, we suggest adding in 2 natural perches to keep feet healthy and free of bumble foot. Different sized perches are good for their feet. Also, 1 grit or cement perch to wear down their nails.
Environmental Enrichment: Toys and play equipment are a must from the start to get your budgie use to them and not scared. A ladder and swing per budgie in the enclosure and minimum 4 to 6 appropriate toys for chewing, preening and playing.
To get the best usage of space when it comes to toys, think of the enclosure as 3 levels.
You want to utilise all levels of your enclosure, the top, middle and bottom (floor) with toys. For example: hanging chew toys and natural toys at the top, bell and forage toys for the middle and foot toys (bar bell or balls) on the bottom.
Do not use the same toys, as variety makes it much more interesting and entertaining for your budgie.
Wing trimming a hand raised budgie.
There are pros and cons to both sides and having your budgies’ wings trimmed will not ensure it can’t fly away. Done correctly, it can reduce flight, allow them to glide safely to the ground.
Some owners allow their budgies’ wings to grow out. This is great too as the budgie gets plenty of exercise, however there is a greater risk of losing your budgie. If you choose to have your budgie fully flighted, make sure all windows and doors are closed while your budgie is out. It is also a good idea to harness train your budgie for outings.
We get asked all the time, if a wing trim is painful for a budgie?
Budgies’ feathers are made out of keratin, the same as our hair. So, when a wing trim is done correctly, it’s about as painful as getting a haircut. Our budgie experts know how to trim a budgies’ wings with as little stress as possible on your budgie.
Most budgies go through a molt at least twice a year and re-grow their flight feathers. If you have a budgie with trimmed wings, keep an eye out for when they molt, and flight feather start to grow back. They go from 0 to 100 very fast.
We do wing trims in store, no need to make an appointment. We do walk ins any day of the week.
A baby budgie with trimmed wings on average takes about 4 to 6 months to grow back.
Signs of illness in Budgies
If you ever notice a change in behavior, appearances, your budgie sitting on the floor of the cage fluffed up, swelling around the eyes, feces covered vent or just generally down spirited, we suggest as a first line of defense adding antibiotics to your budgie’s water supply and a heat lamp. As sick birds almost always stop producing enough body heat. The reason many sick birds puff their feathers up is to conserve and trap in body heat because they are cold. It’s VERY important that a heat lamp is also provided. A blanket over the cage or placed next to a sunny window will not do the trick even in summer. You need to use a heat globe Birdsville have a range of heat globes and ceramic attachments they do not cost much and can likely save your birds life. Broad spectrum anti biotics are available at Birdsville. Broad-spectrum antibiotic is an easy-to-use powder, that is added to your budgies’ food or water.
If you are not sure how to tell what a healthy budgie looks like or how to perform a visual health check, we will happily show you. Our team perform and show our customers how to perform a visual health check with every animal sold by our team. Please bring your in budgie in-store to Birdsville, we do not charge to do this, and we do not mind if you have bought the bird from someone else. We are happy to help as this is a great skill set for any budgie owner to have, as you can have a much better ability in spotting if your budgie is not 100%.
If you do use antibiotics, it’s important to have a heat lamp as an ill budgie cannot produce enough body warmth. A heat lamp is so important when using antibiotics that without it, it can render the antibiotics almost useless. A broad-spectrum antibiotic will often fix most of the common budgie ailments, if your budgie doesn’t appear to be improving, you need to see a vet. We have a list of vets at the bottom of this page.
Unweaning risks: There is always risk of a baby budgie reverting or unweaning (stop eating food on their own). There are several reasons why a baby budgie may unwean, some of the reasons listed below.
– High level of stress, such as over handling by kids or excited owners, incorrect handling or over stimulation. We understand it is an exciting time getting a new pet and it is hard to not want to play with them, but it is important to remember they are young and everything in new to them. Please follow our instruction for the first 3 and 10 days to ensure your baby budgie isn’t over handle, incorrectly handle or over stimulated.
– Playing with a baby budgies’ beak. This can make the budgie think you are feeding them and encourage them to beg. It is recommended not to play with a baby budgies beak as it could trigger begging behavior. If this happens you may need to re-introduce hand raising formula, which Birdsville always has in stock.
– Change of diet. We always recommend our baby budgies go home with the same food they are on prior to purchase, or food we know they have already been introduced too. A baby budgie may not recognize a new food as food when you quickly change diet, causing them to start begging.
– Worming your budgie too early can upset a baby budgie’s crop (stomach), causing them to stop eating, as they have only just learnt how to eat on their own
– Low-quality seed – some seed mixed are full of filler seed or cheaper grains that have been store for long periods of time. These mixes are low-grade, because the filler seed has low nutrients, and the stored grain loses nutritional content. It is in there to bulk out the seed mix and look pretty. Baby budgie may not recognize it as food or get the nutritional contents they require, causing the baby budgie to revert. Some mixes have so much filler seed the baby budgie has to work too hard to get the grains it needs and causes its health to deteriorate.
– Other animal/bird – Other animals and budgies can stress out a new arrival budgie dropping its immune function and the health may deteriorate.
– Cold/chills can slow down the process of the crop’s digestion of food. This slowdown of the crop can cause a young budgie to unwean and stop feeding them self. If this has happened, you must warm up your bud and offer hand rearing formula.
unclean and damp enclosure – I shouldn’t have to put this is here but unfortunately still come across this issue. This will spread disease and Mould and can likely kill a budgie or make it sick.
– A combination of all the above.
Recognizing the sign of reverting: The first signs of reverting is a head bobbing motion, slightly flapping wings while standing in one place and a begging noise. They baby budgie may do all or one of these and if you are concern, bring the bird in for us to check or get it on some hand rearing formula.
If you think, your budgie has un weaned it is important to act fast, as it will no longer feed itself and will starve within a few days. An un weaned budgie must be feed hand rearing formula morning and night, our Birdsville team always have this product in stock.
Our Birdsville team will not sell a hand raised budgies that hasn’t been self-sufficient for at least a week.
Keeping your baby bird warm: It’s important to keep an eye on your new budgie, as they are more susceptible to having a chill. Especially, if you only have one budgie, even in summer.
Budgies in a wild or aviary environment huddle together to conserve heat. More often than not when someone brings a new budgie home, they buy one budgie to create a strong bond with the human family which is a slight risk.
It is very bad for your baby budgie to get a chill, because it weakens the budgie’s immune system and can lead to an illness. A baby budgie that is warm, with a healthy food supply, has a much stronger immune response. Baby budgies are very delicate and a budgie with a compromised immune system can die from a whole host of pathogens. Adult budgies are less susceptible to the cold, so it’s very important you keep a baby budgie in a dry area where there are no wind drafts. Laundries are not a great place for budgies.
Budgie Bird Boarding
We can board your budgie, if you go away on holidays. Boarding is available throughout the year, please visit petsvillehotel.com to check it out and book your budgie in.
Don’t hesitate to come and see us in store if you have any concerns, or questions and bring your budgie for us to see.
Hygiene
The cage requires regulars cleaning and old food shouldn’t be allowed to accumulate in the cage, on perches or in feeders. Water should be changed daily basics.
Using bird friendly cage cleaner comes ready to use with no need to dilute it. Simply spray onto your pet’s cage and wipe with a cloth to remove stains, soiling and Oduor.
Are you ready to be a Budgie Guardian?
Recommended Vets and links below
The Wild Vet
1300 9453 83822A Bridge Road, Glebe Carlingford
Animal Hospital
02 9871 6036
772 Pennant Hills Road Carlingford
SASH
Small Animal Specialist
Hospital 02 (9190 6806)
Level 1, 1 Richardson place North Ryde
SERV
02 9436 4884
57-63 Herbert St Artarmon
